An Escape from Reality
by shadowmacer66
Summary: After a horrific car accident kills both of their parents, sisters Anna and Elsa drift apart. As Elsa works her life away, Anna finds comfort in MMOs. When Elsa gets trapped in the death game called Sword Art Online, will she survive and how will Anna deal with life without her sister. Sword Art Online AU with Frozen characters plus a few others.
1. Chapter 1: Link Start

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes._**

It's been 3 years since our parents passed. I still can't believe it's already been that long since they died in a car accident that left five others dead and dozens injured. Soon afterwards, I threw myself at my part-time job as an assistant art teacher at the local elementary school. In the process, I pushed my sister, Anna, away when she needed me the most. She became ... distant and serious all the time. She rarely smiled any more and refused to talk to me most of the time. Then, about a year ago, Anna discovered Massive Multiplayer Online games or MMOs. Ever since, I rarely see my sister. Every day after school, she'd run to her room and spend the rest of her day into the wee hours of the morning in those games, only coming out for dinner. I don't know how she did it, staying up til 3 or 4 in the morning just to get up at 6:30 for school. I went to bed at 10 and still woke up tired as ever. Earlier today (my first day off in almost 6 months I might add), there was a package for Anna left at the doorstep from a company called Argus. After taking it inside, I opened it up to find a helmet. I picked up the manual and started reading. The helmet was a NerveGear and was to be used with the game packaged with it, an MMO called Sword Art Online of which Anna was a beta tester. Weird, I never knew that Anna was a beta tester. I wondered what else I didn't know about my sister. The servers were supposed to open up at 1:00 pm. I looked up at the clock. It was almost 12:50 pm. I decided to make a quick lunch and try out this game. I've always wondered why Anna was into these things so much. I had at least a few hours before she got home. I could always log out and delete the character. After eating the PB&J sandwich I quickly made, I put on the helmet and said the two words that would forever change my life: Link Start.


	2. Chapter 2: First Steps

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes._**

After a short calibration sequence, I came to the avatar customization screen. I was momentarily stunned by the wide variety of options available. I manipulated my avatar so that it was slightly taller than my actual size, though only by a few inches. I kept the hair color the same platinum blonde as my own, though I changed the hair style slightly so that it was longer and changed my eye color to a piercing blue. I was ready to go, as soon as I decided upon the name of my character. Fuyuko was something I've used before so I swiftly typed that in, and entered the rest of the game. I was greeted by the welcome screen and swiftly tumbled through streaks of blue light and electricity.

After opening my eyes, I found myself in a town. A little pop-up stated that this was the Town of Beginnings. I started twirling around, trying to take it all in. I had to admit, it was stunning. Even though I knew it was just a game, it seemed so real. I was starting to see why Anna loved these games. I stopped twirling to find myself face to face another person. It was a girl with short teal hair and blue-green eyes wielding what looked to be a long bow.

"Having fun?" the girl asked, a slight smile on her face.

"S-Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was just taking in the scenery," I mumbled, blushing furiously.

"It's alright. It is really breathtaking. By the way, my name is Sinon. What's yours?"

"El-I-mean Fuyuko, nice to meet you"

"Have you played an MMORPG before, Fuyuko?"

"Not at all. In fact this is my first time ever playing any kind of game. I have no idea what to do. My sister is the one who plays these games. I'm just borrowing her Nervegear."

"I see. Hmm. You probably need a weapon. I think a visit to Agil is in order."

"Agil? " I ask.

"Someone I met during the beta test. He's a shopkeeper and all around good man. You'll like him. Just warning you though, he's tall. Really tall."

"Okay. Let's go."

As we moved through the ever-growing crowd of people, I couldn't help but look around,

_15 minutes later_

"And here we are," Sinon exclaimed.

A tall black man stood up from his mat. I'm not going to lie, he was a bit intimidating. "Hello Sinon. It's been a while. How are you? And who is this," looking at me.

"This is Fuyoko. She needs a weapon."

"Well it's not much, but you're more than welcome to look around."

After looking at what Agil was selling I ended up buying a simple sword and a dark blue cloak for 500 col and left Agil's shop. Standing a few meters away was a young woman with brown eyes, auburn hair and whiskers on her face.

"Argo," Sinon said.

"Sinon," the woman responded, "And this must be the lovely Fuyuko. Am I correct?"

"How did you know my name?" I asked in a shocked voice.

"I'm an information broker," she said with a big grin, "it's my job to know things. So is it true that you've never play a video game before?"

"Yea..." I stated quietly.

"It's okay. Just curious," she said. "Hey Kiri-bou, would you like to train another noob?"

"I'm not a noob!" the red-haired man exclaimed.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," the black-haired boy stated dryly. He looked back at Elsa. "Sure, why not?"


	3. Chapter 3: New Friends

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes._**

Eventually, we stopped in the middle of the field. A boar spawned in a flash of polygons.

"Klein, you first."

Klein took up a ready stance and charged the boar, though it quickly sent him flying away with a well-placed headbutt. He writhed on the ground for a few minutes. Sinon laughed at his antics while Kirito just shook his head.

"Oh come on, seriously? You can't feel any pain." At his words, Klein blinked and stopped writhing.

"Oh yeah, you're right." He stood up gingerly, as if anticipating more pain. "Sorry, habit."

"Remember what I said – the first move is the most important."

Klein slumped forward a slight bit. "Yeah, that's easy for you to say." He looked over to the boar; it was twitching its tail and calmly grunting occasionally. "The damn thing won't stand still!" he grunted in exasperation. Kirito just smiled, and proceeded to kneel and pick up a small pebble.

"If you do your initial motion right…" While speaking, he tossed the pebble in the air and caught it. He drew back his arm to throw it. His actions made no sense – a pebble couldn't do much damage to the boar, if any. Its hide was just too thick. As he drew back his arm, though, something strange happened. The pebble started glowing faintly red. "…and activate a Sword Skill at the right time…" He narrowed his eyes, and threw the glowing rock. As it left his hand, it made a small boom and streaked toward the boar. I let out a small gasp of surprise, not expecting a pebble to be able to be used as a weapon. The pebble struck the boar on its left flank, causing it to squeal in irritation. There was a small red spot on the boar's hide where the pebble struck, though it quickly faded away. Kirito straightened and said, "…the system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target."

"Initial…motion…?" Klein sounded as confused as I felt. How were you supposed to know when to attack?

Kirito had drawn his sword and was holding it in one hand, facing off against the angry boar. The enemy mook was scraping at the ground, preparing to charge.

"Here's an easier way to look at it." Sinon interjected.

As she spoke, the boar charged at Kirito, though he dodged easily.

"Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit."she continued.

The boar charged again, and instead of dodging he parried the blow, catching the boar's horns on his sword.

"When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!" she finished.

Her words made a lot of sense to me, and it seemed like they had a similar effect on Klein. I could see him look off to the side, probably thinking about what Sinon had said. "Eh… drive it home?" Suddenly, he gasped and got into a fighting stance, knees slightly bent and feet apart. The red-haired man raised his sword over his shoulder and waited, just like the other had said. As expected, the sword blade started glowing a pale yellow.

Seeing that, Kirito smiled and broke free from the boar, kicking it toward the other man. I caught myself holding my breath, trying to tell if the instructions would work. Klein let out a yell and swung his sword, holding it straight in front of him and kicking off the ground. He moved at a speed that seemed impossible, slicing straight through the side of the boar. My eyes widened in surprise. So that was a sword skill.

The boar, drained of its health, burst into blue polygons. A small screen popped up which showed a list of experience, col, and items received from the fight. The red-haired swordsman looked over his shoulder, smiling in glee, before celebrating over his first victory. Kirito watched with a small smile before saying, "Congratulations." He walked over to the other man and they slapped their palms together. "However, those were the equivalent of slimes in other games."

Klein groaned, "I thought that was a mid-level boss or something."

Both Kirito and Sinon laughed. "As if," Sinon muttered.

"Fuyuko, your turn." Kirito stated as another boar spawned.

As it turned out, I was a good student. It only took me a couple times to pull off the sword skill Slant and killed the boar soon after.

"Good job Fuyuko," Klein exclaimed.

"Ready to move on?" Kirito asked

Klein answered for us all when he enthusiastically yelled out, "Let's go!"

_A couple hours later_

After a couple of hours of grinding, everyone in the party was level three and both Klein and I had a general idea on how to play. We had stopped at the edge of one of the platforms stretching out over a field, and stayed lounging around in the grass.

Kirito looked at me with a questioning look in his eyes. "Fuyuko, can I ask you a question?"

"Yea, sure. What's up?" I respond.

"You don't seem like the type to play MMOs. Why did you start now?"

"My sister is more of a gamer than me. I started playing in an attempt to rebuild our relationship. I haven't been the best sister since our parents died. How about you? Why do you play?"

"I'm not sure. I've never been very popular and real life is really boring. That's what this is to me. An escape from reality." he replied.

Klein interrupted, "Well I need to be getting off. I got a pizza coming in about half in hour. After that I'll be signing back on to meet up with some friends from another game. Thank you for all of your help. Would you three mind doing me the honor of being my first three friends in this game? I mean if you don't want to that's fine and all," he quickly added after seeing Kirito's and Sinon's surprised faces.

"N-no, that's fine," both Kirito and Sinon stuttered, accepting the friend request he had sent them.

I just smiled as I pressed the blue button that signified accept, before sending a friend request to Kirito and Sinon.

After everyone accepted their friend requests , Klein went to go log out.

"I also have to go. My sister should be home by now, and I have stuff I need to do," I stated, "I'll see you guys later," half waving.

"Bye Fuyuko," both Kirito and Sinon said.

But before I had a chance to open the menu, I hear Klein's voice nearby, "Hmm, I don't see the log out button anywhere," he said

"It should be at the bottom of the options menu. At least that's where it was during the beta," Sinon said. She opened her menu to check and both Kirito and I did as well

"It's not there," the three of us exclaimed.

"I'm sure it just a bug. I mean it is the first day out of beta. It has to be a bug, right Kirito?" Klein asked.

"I'm not sure. Something this big couldn't have made into the final product," Kirito replied.

"I've already sent a message to the GM. I haven't heard anything yet," Sinon stated.

"I bet all the server people are freaking out right now," Klein said, lightly chuckling.

"You should be too. Look at the time." Kirito said drily.

We all looked at the clock. 5:25 p.m.

"Holy shit!" Klein exclaimed, " my Teriyaki Mayo pizza and Ginger Ale!"

Suddenly, all our thoughts were scattered by the loud, deep rumbling of a bell. We all looked to the source of the sound, unconsciously drawing in breath, as the bell rang throughout the server. We remained motionless, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, everything faded to white.


	4. Chapter 4: Game Changer

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes._**

As our vision cleared, we were in the plaza of the Town of Beginnings. We could see the green lights from other players teleporting in.

"A forced teleport?" Sinon asked.

"I didn't even know that was possible," Kirito replied.

"It's probably just the GM getting everyone together to explain the situation," Klein stated.

"GM?" I asked, feeling slightly confused.

"Game Master, " Kirito answered, quickly cutting Klein off, " the person who handles the server from the inside. A leader of sorts."

Suddenly the bell stopped as the last of the green lights disappeared. The murmuring of the confused players grew louder.

Somebody suddenly shouted, "Look, up there. What is that?"

There was a red hexagon flashing in the middle of the sky and quickly filled it, alternating System Announcement and Warning. Some viscous liquid starting seeping through the cracks between hexagons, pooling in midair. I was slightly disturbed by its appearance similar to blood and judging from my friends' expressions, they felt the same way. "What the hell is that thing?" Sinon asked in an incredulous tone of voice. Soon, the pool of red liquid formed into a giant robed figure; I couldn't see the face, and I unconsciously backed away, only stopping when I bumped into Kirito. I heard other players questioning the turn of events in confusion. The hooded figure spread its arms wide and spoke. "Attention players." Its voice was loud and majestic, befitting the size of the figure. "I welcome you to my world."

"What does he mean by that," Kirito asked, "and who the hell is he?"

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world." Everyone assembled let out a gasp of shock, and I noticed both Kirito's and Sinon's face turned white. I guessed they knew the name. Personally, I had no idea who Akihiko Kayaba was, given how new I was to gaming.

"As most of you have already noticed, the log-out button is missing from the maim menus," pulling up his own menu as he spoke, " I assure you that this is how I designed Sword Art Online. I repeat, this is not a defect but a feature. Starting right now, you can not log yourself out of the game, nor can anyone from the outside shut down or remove the NerveGear helmet."

With that everyone started muttering quietly amongst themselves, voicing the questions that were on everyone's mind. "Is he kidding?" "He has to be kidding." " Is this some kind of opening event?"

"If anyone tries to remove the helmet," the figure continued, silencing the crowd, "a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

The reaction to this announcement ranged from terror to indignation to confusion. Several people tried to leave via the passages on the edge of the clearing, only to find that we had been sealed in by a barrier. Klein scoffed. "Hey, are you listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right? Right, Kirito?"

I can't blame him for trying to get reassurance, but I would have preferred not to hear Kirito's next words. "He's not. The transmitter signals in the head gear work just like a microwave. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."

Kayaba continued speaking. "Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have tried removing the NerveGear. An unfortunate decision, to say the least." I didn't want to hear what he said next, but his calm voice continued speaking with no way to stop listening. "As a result, 213 players have left the game and by extension the real world." As he said those words, screens appeared and started circling him. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths." I stared at the screens, searching for a familiar space, and found none, fortunately. "At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. In the past few hours, I have made sure that all remaining players have been brought to hospitals to receive the best care free of charge. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear all 100 floors of the game."

"It's important to remember the following: there is no longer any way to revive someone within the game; if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system… forever." I glanced at Kirito; he was glaring angrily at the hooded figure. Klein was shaking his head in disbelief, and Sinon had an expression somewhere between terror and anger." And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain." All I could see in my Anna crying over my dead body in some hospital bed. She already lost her parents and now this psychopath was going to take me, her only family left?

"Like I said before, the only way to escape is to clear all 100 floors. Right now, you are on the first floor the lowest level of Aincrad. He pressed a button, and a holographic image appeared with a red dot on the bottom., If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor." The holographic image flushed red from bottom to top. "Defeat the boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game.

Cries of "how can we believe you" and "what does he mean" rang out. Klein whispered, "We can't clear all 100 floors. That's freaking impossible. Even the beta testers never made it that far!"

Silencing all muttering, Kayaba raised his hand. "Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of each player. Please, have a look." I furrowed my brow, confused, but opened up my inventory anyway. Inside was a single item, a Hand Mirror. I pulled it out, and it was just a mirror. It reflected my image.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white glow surround my friends. Before I could do anything, my own mirror emitted a white glow that surrounded me. As the white glow dissipated, nothing seemed to have change, though I felt shorter. I turned to my friends, "is everyone ok? Wait..."All three of them looked different. Klein's hair was a deeper shade of red and didn't fall neatly like it did before. Kirito looked younger as well as having shorter hair. He also looked incredibly familiar. Sinon's teal hair was gone and replaced by a chocolate brown color, and her blue-green eyes became brown as well.

"Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why?' 'Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design." The man was insane. That had to be the only explanation; he had no possible idea what he was doing. Kayaba continued. "As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." The image of the GM seemed to corrupt and dissolve into smoke. Any remnants of that strange red liquid were quickly reabsorbed into the cracks of the red hexagons, leaving the sky clear.

The whole crowd stood there in silence, trying to take it all in. Even when the invisible barrier lifted, nobody moved.

Suddenly Kirito beckoned to the three of us. "Follow me," he whispered.

Once we reached an alley away from the crown Kirito turned and looked at me. "You're Anna's older sister, Elsa, right?" he asked, "I didn't know you were into games."

"I wasn't. And yes, I am Anna's sister And you must be Kazuto, one of her friends from school."

"I thought you looked familiar." Kirito replied. "Anyways, I'm headed the next village over. I want you guys to come with me. "If what he said was true, and I think it is, the only way we're going to survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible." He pulled up a map of the first floor; we were blinking in a red area, which most likely denoted a town. "In an MMORPG, once the game starts up there's only so much money and Exp to go around. In a few weeks, the fields around the Town of Beginnings will be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points." He looked up at us. "Don't worry, I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even at our current level, I can get us there easy.

"Sorry," Klein said, " Remember those friends I was talking about?" He smiled sadly. "They're still in the plaza. I can't just leave them there. After all we waited in a line all night to get our copy."

Kirito inclined his head, thinking. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"Can't ask a guy I just met to risk his life for a bunch of strangers, can I? So don't worry about me, get your ass to the next village." He smiled, and pointed his thumb at himself. "I'll be fine! In the last game I played, I ran a guild so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you taught me, I'll get by, no sweat."

"Ok. But if you ever need help, don't hesitate to message me, ok? Later Klein. Take care."

As Klein turned to walk away "Hey, Kirito? Uh… you look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar. You too, Sinon and Fuyuko."

Kirito looked at him, smiling. "Yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better too."

Sinon spoke up for the first time since the announcement, "Don't die on us Klein.

Klein smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it, my dear."

"So are you two coming?"

I looked at Sinon, "I see no reason to not go with you."

"I agree," Sinon concurred.

"Then let's get moving."

**Author Note: **_So the next chapter will feature Anna and not Elsa. Elsa's story will continue in Ch 6._


	5. Chapter 5: Anna's Bad Day

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen or any other characters. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes._**

It's been 3 years since our parents passed. I still can't believe it's already been that long since they died in a car accident that left five others dead and dozens injured. Soon afterwards, Elsa threw herself at her part-time job as an assistant art teacher at the local elementary school, and left me alone. I know she didn't mean to and it was just her way of dealing with their death but she became ... distant and serious all the time. She rarely smiled any more and refused to talk to me most of the time. About a year and a half ago, I found video games and about a year ago, I discovered Massive Multiplayer Online games or MMOs. Every day after school, I'd run to my room and spend the rest of my day into the wee hours of the morning in those games, only coming out for dinner. I often stayed up til 3 or 4 in the morning and then took a shower and got ready for school. I didn't get much sleep, even before video games. I played Elder Tales, explored Tyria, the world of Guild Wars 2, mapped the planet of Nexus from WildStar, and even spent some time in World of Warcraft before they added subscription fees. But the game I enjoyed playing the most was Sword Art Online. I got really lucky to get my hands on one of 1000 copies of the beta. I met some really cool people like Sinon, Agil, Kirito, Argo and my boyfriend (that Elsa doesn't know about) Kristoff who went by the lame name of Icemaster. After that I couldn't wait to meet up with the friends I made in Aincrad. Today was Friday and the day the servers for SAO were supposed to come up. So you'd understand me being upset when my English teacher gave me afterschool detention for falling asleep in class for the third time today. It was bad enough Elsa wouldn't let me skip school. Now I wasn't going to be home until at least 5:30 p.m., a full 4 and a half hours after the servers came online. I sent a text to Rapunzel, my cousin and best friend, that I needed a ride home. You see, Rapunzel is a cheerleader and is constantly staying late. I also texted Elsa to let her know that I was going to be home late. I got a text from Rapunzel saying she was going on a date with her boyfriend, Flynn, after practice but could come and pick me up beforehand, but I never received one back from my sister. So after school was over and I survived the hell called detention, I stood outside the school waiting for Rapunzel. I still hadn't received a text from Elsa, which was a little worrying. I understood that she was often busy but she always responded quickly. Suddenly I heard a horn. I looked up and saw Rapunzel and Flynn in her '01 Dodge Intrepid.

"Let's go Anna," Rapunzel called out.

As I climbed in the back seat of the car, I greeted Flynn with a nod.

"Hey kid," Flynn replied, " how was your day?"

"You mean, besides being given detention cause the stupid English teacher put me to sleep again?" I

retorted. Flynn just laughed.

Our conversation continued on like that for several minutes. Flynn was like a big brother that I never had. All of sudden, I heard Rapunzel swear under her breath.

"Is your street always this busy?" she asked.

I looked out and saw an ambulance outside my house and the EMTs wheeling Elsa wearing what looked like **my** Nervegear helmet. I practically jumped out of the car.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled.

"Calm down. Are you Anna Arendelle?" one of the EMTs asked.

"I am," I replied, "What are you doing with my sister?"

"Have you not heard the news about the Nervegear?" he asked politely.

"No I haven't," I stated, "I just got out of school. I had to stay late."

"Well, get into the ambulance, and I'll explain on the way to the hospital."

"Which hospital? Just so I can tell my friends where to go," pointing to Rapunzel and Flynn.

"Fukubichu Public Hospital."

I headed back to the car. "Did you get that?"

Rapunzel nodded, "I'll meet you there."

On the way to the hospital, the man who wheeled my sister into the vehicle told me about how Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online, trapped thousands of people in his death game.

"Your sister is not the only one from your area, " the EMT stated, "There is also Lucius Best, Caitlin Snow, Leonard Snart, Kristoff Bjorgman, Kazuto Kirigaya, Robert Drake, and Jack Winters, all of whom are from your school as well as many others across and three others from the United States. From what I've heard, there is a total of 10,000 people trapped in this death game by a mad man.

"The funny thing is, if I hadn't gotten detention, it might have been me in there instead of Elsa."

"Lucky for you, it seems."

"I guess. Elsa was always the strong one..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she will survive," he stated firmly, giving me a grin.

I didn't reply, instead looking at my unconscious sister.

"Oh Elsa," I softly whispered, pulling a stray hair from her face, "What have you gotten yourself into?"

**Author Notes: **_And so ends the first part of Anna's side of the story. The next chapter will once again focuses on Elsa. Also the characters mentioned near the end will play an important part later in the story. Kudos to those who can guess where they're from. _


	6. Chapter 6: Finding Hope in the Darkness

**Author Note: _I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen or any other characters. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes. I also want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, or favorited my story. It really means a lot. In response to a question, Anna only played the beta for Sword Art Online, which had the log out feature. Since Elsa "borrowed" Anna's NerveGear, Anna never got into the full game, and therefore, never got trapped. One last thing, italics represent in-game messages._**

It's been two months since the death game began. And in that time, almost 2,000 died. In the Resurrection Chamber where you would respawn in a normal game was an obelisk upon which was the names of all 10,000 players. Every time a player died, their name was crossed off and a date, time and cause of death was listed next to it. Most of the deaths were due to player error, but quite a few were suicides. People were losing hope fast, myself included. I've broken down three times in the past couple weeks alone, including once while we were in a dungeon. If it wasn't for Kirito, I would have been dead. He blocked the skeleton's attack and kept it busy while Sinon grabbed me and dragged me to a nearby safe zone, tears streaming down my face. After killing the skeleton , Kirito followed.

"What the hell, Fuyuko," Sinon yelled, looking directly at me. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Yes-no-I-don't-know," I blubbered, "I just want to get out of here, as even more tears fell down. "I'm just so scared."

Sinon's eyes softened slightly.

BING

"What was that?" I asked, wiping the tears away.

"It looks like Argo is still alive," Kirito stated, "I sent her a message earlier. I wonder what took her so long."

_WARNING! If you are still alive, we need to meet in Horunka as soon as possible._

"That's weird," Kirito stated, "Argo's messages have never included a warning at the beginning."

"Is it important?" Sinon asked.

"Probably," Kirito replied.

"A player has been killed. I saw it happen." Argo stated as we walked into the local tavern. Everyone's eyes widened at the news.

"What? How did it happen so quickly?!" Kirito asked right in Argo's face, who didn't really show much surprise.

"I was off in a nearby forest, when I happened to see two boys, probably on a quest. I didn't interact with them, but one of the boys' actions seemed off to me, so I tailed them."

"Who was this boy? Any specific details?"

"Well, I'd say he was about your size, Kirito, with brown hair that's a bit longer than yours."

Argo's words brought Kirito back to just before they took up their quest, and he noticed a brown-haired boy taking up the quest he was looking at. The guy didn't exactly seem sure of himself.

"So, wh-wh-what did he do?" I asked, afraid of what I would learn.

"He did a monster PK," Argo said plainly. Kirito's and Sinon's eyes widened slightly, and Kirtio's fist tightening a bit. I was confused though.

"A what?" I asked staring blankly at Argo.

"A monster PK is when players use neutral monsters to kill others. Obviously, in a normal game, that doesn't mean much, but in this game, well, yeah." Argo took a breath before continuing. "Anyway, after obtaining the quest item, this boy attacked a Little Nepent's fruit, which activated a trap and summoned more monsters. He ran away, leaving the other to die."

"That's….that's horrible." I said, shocked that someone could do that. "How could a person leave another to die?"

"Well, the guy isn't exactly sociable. It took me a while, but I think I actually remember him from the beta." That little bit surprised Kirito the most. The boy was a beta tester?

"Argo, who is this guy?" Kirito asked.

"His name's Coper." The name sounded vaguely familiar to Kirito, though he didn't memorize many names from the beta. However, Coper had gained a reputation for being an especially serious player. The idea that a beta tester would lead a new player to an early grave didn't sit well with Kirito.

"Just as a warning. We are all going to need to watch our steps," Argo added, glancing at Sinon.

"How so?" asked Kirito.

"From what I've seen, there's already a sizable gap between the newbies and the beta testers. After all, we do know much of the early floors."

Kirito sighed as he gave that some thought. Normally, such a thing wouldn't matter. However, this game was now a matter of life and death, so beta testers would certainly have an upper hand not only at playing, but staying alive.

"Well, I've said everything I needed to say," Argo said as she stood up. "Be grateful that I happened to be in the area when I saw this. Otherwise, who knows what might happen."

"Fair point," Kirito replied.

"So, that will be 75 col." Argo smirked at him.

"75 col? I thought you said this was going to be free!"

"I said discounted, not free. No such thing as free in this game. You should pay more attention."

Kirito sighed as he paid Argo for her "services". I didn't say anything, but Sinon looked slightly angry.

We discussed the implications on the way back to the inn we were staying at.

"I can't believe that he would do something like that," Sinon fumed.

" You knew him?" I asked.

"I partied up with him a couple times in the beta. He wasn't exactly the friendly type but I never figured he'd stoop that low," she replied.

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Kirito stated, holding the door open, " did you hear about that boss meeting being held in a couple days?"

"I did, remember, I was with you," Sinon said, "why, you want to go to it?"

"I think it would be a good idea."


	7. Chapter 7: A Hundred Reasons to Hate

**Author Note: **_I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen or any other characters. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes. I also want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, or favorited my story. It really means a lot._

We were standing in a town by the name of Tolbana. It was pleasant enough, with shopkeepers displaying their wares alongside the street. Kirito lounged on the wall near a fountain, Sinon was laying down in the grass and I was sitting on the fountain. We were in the town for a large meeting called by a player by the name of Diabel. He claimed he had information on the first floor boss; we couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn what he had to say. The day was nice; for December, the air was still warm. I wondered if it ever snowed here. Probably not on this floor, a floor designed to be warm and inviting, but there was the chance I could still see snow.

"Hello girls and boy! Fancy seeing you here."

"Hello, Argo."

She had visited the three of us before with a message for Kirito: someone was willing to buy his Anneal Blade for an outrageous amount of col. He turned down the offer. I assumed that her seeking us out meant she had another offer to deliver. Sure enough, she didn't disappoint.

"Hey, you know that offer someone made for your sword? Well, the player who wanted it has raised the price."

She then quoted a price that made all of us stare at her in shock– it was nearly double the original offer. Someone wanted that sword particularly badly.

"Uwah? That's… that's a lot." He stared at Argo as if expecting her to laugh and claim it was a joke. When she didn't, he looked at us.

"What do you guys think?"

"I wouldn't just yet," Sinon replied, "If the meeting has any useful information on the whereabouts of the floor boss, we'll need our full power to defeat it. Losing a powerful sword would only hinder our ability to fight and survive."

Kirito nodded. What she said must have been along the same lines as his reasoning.

"Yeah…" He turned to Argo. "Sorry, but tell your client that the sword isn't for sale right now."

Argo left after receiving Kirito's decline of the offer.

"Hey, c'mon. The meeting is soon."

I said, "So where is the meeting?"

"In the town center. It's this way." He started off toward our destination.

We walked calmly but with purpose, ignoring the NPCs hawking their wares. As we walked, I watched his face. While we were adventuring together, he had become a little more open, at least with Sinon and I. We talked about the outside world as little as possible; this world was quickly becoming home and as real as the outside world. There were days where I'd go through it, not realizing I was in VR until late at night. I suppose it was a type of managing the trauma of being trapped.

I focused on the sight in front of us. Several players were sitting on the steps in what appeared to be an amphitheater. Kirito and I took seats near the top, in the empty seats.

I looked around, curious as to the collection of players – it seemed smaller than I expected for some reason. The only people who had shown up were stronger players, those willing to put their life on the line to escape. My wandering attention was recaptured by a man striding onto the stage. He clapped his hands to gather attention, and began speaking.

"Okay, people. Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started."

He had blue hair, an anomaly in this game, as well as a sword slung on his hip. He seemed open and friendly enough, and confident speaking in front of a public audience. Kirito and I watched him intently, waiting to see what would happen.

"So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game," he thumped his chest, "the job I rolled is knight."

Sinon snickered. The intended icebreaker seemed to have worked, as other players were chuckling and teasing Diabel. I looked over to Kirito, who was smiling as well.

Diabel continued speaking, "You guys wanna hear this or not?"

As the jeering died down, he suddenly became serious.

"Right, here's the deal. My party found the boss room at the top of the tower today."

Incredulous gasps filled the air, only to be halted by his raised hand.

"First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to floor two. The next step is, we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game!"

His voice was strong and confident. Diabel clenched his fist.

"Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree, or not?"

Murmurs filled the air as the assembled players discussed the new revelations. Kirito, Sinon and I glanced at each other and nodded; we would be there to fight alongside Diabel. Someone in the crowd started clapping, and the applause quickly spread. Kirito was smiling; I could only assume he was happy at progress being made.

"Okay!" said Diabel, "Glad to hear you're all with me on this. Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six."

Diabel continued, "A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need a raid group made up of multiple parties." All the other players had already formed up in groups of six.

Sinon looked at Kirito, "Do you think we'll be fine with three?"

"All right!" Diabel cried out, "Looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then, let's – "

He was interrupted by someone shouting from the top of the amphitheater. "Hold up a sec!" He ran and jumped over multiple rows, landing in front of the assembled players. He had a strange hairstyle, spike and pointed only in a few places. He looked somewhat like a mace available for purchase. As that thought hit me, I laughed under my breath. The hedgehog-looking player stood up and gestured to himself.

"My name's Kibaou, you got that?" From where I was sitting, I couldn't see Kirito's face, but I assumed he was watching, interested. "Before we take on the boss, I want to get something off my chest. We all know about the 2,000 people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" He pointed a finger at the audience. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was referring to; the beta testers. He seemed to believe that the beta testers were somehow at fault for the other players' deaths. Kirito suddenly sucked air in and grew stiff; I could tell he had reached the same conclusion I had. Diabel spoke up for the first time since Kibaou interrupted him. "Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?"

Kibaou stepped toward him. "Of course I mean them! The day this stupid-ass game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners." This wasn't true, as Kirito and Sinon helped me survive, but I'm certain had I not been there both of them would have left by themselves. It's entirely possible that other beta testers left by themselves and charged off, like we did.

"They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here." His words were hitting uncomfortably close to home – we did get good hunting spots and easy quests. "This whole time, they've ignored us like we're nothing." Kibaou snarled, getting worked up again.

He clenched a fist and shook it at the audience. "Hell, I bet there's some of them here! Come on out, beta testers!" He started getting more and more animated as his voice grew louder and louder. "We should make 'em apologize to us. And we should make 'em give up their money AND the items they can't expect the party to trust 'em when they don't trust us. Why should we?" I could see Kirito was very affected by Kibaou's hateful words; they were close to the truth, though I trusted him. I placed my hand on his trembling shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at my hand, startled, and gave me a quick grin. It was weak, but it was there.

"Can I say something?" The unexpected voice cut through the murmuring of the assembled players. It was deep and confidant. A man stood up in front of us; he wore a large axe on his back, and by the look of his muscles could swing it with ease. All three of our eyes widen slightly. It was Agil. As he walked to the speaking floor, Kibaou's face grew more and more alarmed. It was clear the man towered over him – he was six feet easily.

"Hey. My name's Agil. Kibaou, right?" His voice was smooth and strong, a strange counterpoint to Kibaou's frantic, weaker voice. "I wanna make sure I'm on the same page. You say the beta testers should be blamed for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't." Kibaou's voice was tenser and antagonistic; he felt threatened by Agil. A good feeling, as Agil could wipe the floor with Kibaou at any given moment.

Agil pulled out a small brown book. "The item store hands these out for free. It's a guide book. You got one, didn't you?" I recognized the book. I had picked one up in the second village.

"Sure I got one. So what about it?"

"You know who was handing these out? The beta testers." As murmurs swept through the crowd, I nodded. Argo had written the guidebook, using her knowledge and skill as an information gatherer to fill it with all kinds of useful information.

Ignoring Kibaou's glaring face, Agil turned around. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information." He said, slapping the book. "Even so, lots of players still died. Now, I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those player's deaths. I'm here because I wanna find out how we're going to beat the boss." Agil's words had a calming effect on Kirito, though Sinon was motionless as always. I sighed in relief as the tense atmosphere weakened; there was little chance that Kirito or Sinon would be in danger. Agil looked over his shoulder at Kibaou, who grunted and stormed off to take a seat. Agil sat down as well, giving the floor back to Diabel.

"Okay, can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss, it's all in here. The latest version of the guide book you just heard about." That was a surprise. I didn't realize that Argo had released a new version of the guide book, and I resolved to pick one up after the meeting.

"According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his

minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels." The flood of information came quickly, causing rumors at how the guide book knew this. "Illfang carries an axe and a buckler; he has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a talwar. He can change his patterns of attack, too." That was new and disturbing. Diabel, ignoring the incredulous whispers between the players, closed the guide book. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone; the party that defeats the boss gets the XP; and, whoever gets an item, gets to keep it." The terms were fair, as there would be no arguments over a drop or experience. I found myself nodding, as Diabel was a good leader.

"Any objections?" There were none. "Good. We leave tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning. Meeting adjourned, people."

After the meeting, we left the amphitheater.

"Where'd Kirito go?" Sinon asked.

"I don't know," I replied, looking behind me, "I thought he was behind us."

"Let's just find an inn to stay in. I'll send him a message later."

**_The Next Day_**

We stopped in front of a giant door. No one need to say it. This was the door to the first boss. Diabel turned around and stuck his sword in the ground.

"This is it," he stated, "this is where we show the world that this game can be beaten."

And with that he pulled his sword from the dirt, turned back around and pushed the door open. We all stepped into the darkness, unaware of the events to come.


	8. Chapter 8: Boss Battle

**Author Note: **_I do not own Sword Art Online, Frozen or any other characters. This Fanfic was written solely for entertainment purposes. I also want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, or favorited my story. It really means a lot._

All that we could see from the outside was a row of columns stretching into the shadows. As we entered, a pair of red eyes gleamed in the were large, angry, and all together terrifying. Diabel entered the room with Group A, and something changed. The room lit up in bright pastel shades of yellow and green. From the end of the hallway, a loud roar sounded and a gigantic mob soared through the air, landing in front of all of us. When the dust cleared, I could see a large

red monster with four health bars. It could only be Illfang the Kobold Lord. It roared, summoning the expected Sentinel minions. The mobs charged as Diabel stood calm and strong, a bastion of strength. He drew his sword and pointed. "Commence attack!"

And our party rushed forward to the charge and meeting the mobs halfway was Kibaou, a player that surprised me. He didn't seem like the type to fight; his time with Diabel certainly had changed him. The battle quickly dissolved into chaos. Diabel stood in the rear, shouting commands and moving the different squads around to fight. Illfang proved to be a tough foe, as its mighty attacks blew away defenders and its shield blocked most attacks. The fighters were chewing through its HP a bite at a time, though. There hadn't been any casualties so far, a blessing. Agil was fighting, using his sword skills to counter Illfang's mighty strikes, switching out with Kibaou to deal damage. Diabel kept a steady stream of commands flowing, manipulating his men with ease. I was impressed.

"Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions off us!"

"You got it," replied Kirito as he charged a Ruin Kobold Sentinel. He blocked its overhead strike, placing it off balance as Sinon quickly shot three arrows into the kobold, destroying it. The body of the mook burst into polygons as she turned to me smirking

"Sinon, watch out!" Kirito's shout alerted me to something behind her.

She quickly stepped to the right and stabbed the offending kobold in the head with an arrow.

While we handled the mook issue, the assault team had whittled away most of Illfang's HP. The fourth bar turned red, and Illfang let out a loud roar. Everyone backed away from it, unsure of its next motions. Surprisingly, the boss threw away its axe and shield. I realized this was the attack patterns changing to the curved sword.

Kibaou was grinning. "Looks like the guide book was right."

Suddenly, Diabel rushed to the front. "Stand back! I got it!"

Confused, the three of us watched him. That action made no sense; the plan was to surround Illfang and confuse him. As we watched him, Diabel made eye contact with Kirito and smirked. Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle came together.

"Son of a…" I breathed, too quietly for Kirito to hear. Diabel was trying to weaken Kirito, using Kibaou as a go-between. That fact clicking into place triggered the rest of the puzzle to become clear. Diabel was a beta tester as well, and he didn't want competition at the top. I could only help but shake my head in admiration. It was a well-thought plan; unfortunately for him, it didn't work.

As Illfang pulled out his sword, Kirito gasped. Something must have been off with the sword. "Wait, stop!" His desperate cry turned only a few heads, Kibaou among them. "It's no good! Get out of there!" Diabel didn't listen, and unleashed a Sword Skill. Suddenly, Illfang leaped high into the sky, landing and jumping off of pillars in the room. Diabel stopped, stunned, and took Illfang's landing blow head on with no way to stop it. He was sent flying back, and no one could stop what happened next. Illfang immediately charged another Sword Skill, rushing the airborne Diabel and knocking him across the room. Kibaou turned and shouted, "Diabel!", but Illfang landed in the circle of fighters, roaring. Kirito and I rushed to Diabel's side."Diabel!" He knelt down, lifting Diabel's head to look at his HP. The bar was red, prompting Kirito to dig out a healing potion. "What the hell were you

thinking?"Before he could give it to Diabel, his hand was stopped. Diabel looked up at him. "You…know… you were a beta tester too, weren't you?" Kirito's eyes widened. "You were after the Last Attack Bonus, the rare item. You're just like me, a beta tester!"Diabel smiled sadly. "Please… you have to… defeat the boss… for everyone here…" His body faded and burst into hundreds of polygons, scattering into the air and dissipating. Kibaou's face was stunned; his will to fight was broken. "Diabel…"

Kirito crouched there motionless, eyes wide and shining. I thought back to when my parents died, remembering the pain of watching someone die in front of you. I thought back to the meeting in the

town center: Diabel standing there, happy, sharing his confidence with everyone. He was the kind of person who would give his all to help out the new players. I, on the other hand, would probably have left the people I was with if I knew what I was doing.I didn't even realize I had cried until the few tears fell to the floor. Kirito stood up without a word, motionless, and then turned with hard eyes toward the boss. I could feel his resolve to fight and win rising; he would not rest until one of the two was dead. He stared directly at Illfang, the monstrous red beast. Illfang was surrounded by players, but none were healed; its roar knocked them away.

Kirito tightened his grip on his sword, turning to face the boss.

"I'll cover you," Sinon stated

The hooded girl from Agil's party stepped to his side. "I'll go too."

I fell into position beside Kirito as well. "Count me in."

Kirito looked at the three of us. All he said was, "Okay." And then we took off running toward the boss. Illfang let out a roar as he knocked away the last few defenders, which meant there was nobody between the three of us and him. "We'll hit just we did the minions." When Illfang saw us running toward him, it drew its sword back. It started glowing with an eerie white light; a Sword Skill. Suddenly an arrow hit it in the shoulder, stunning it and canceling the Sword Skill. Kirito lunged forward with a yell, unleashing a Sword Skill of his own. The two attacks clashed, knocking both Kirito and Illfang off balance. The new girl leaped in, preparing to use a Sword Skill. But something was wrong. There was an imperceptible tightening in Illfang's muscles, a sign that only Kirito and I noticed. "Watch out, " we both yelled, Somehow she managed to twist her body to the side as Illfang's sword crashed down where she used to be. The boss had recovered from the Sword

Skill clash, allowing it to twist and swing in a heavy slashing motion. At first I thought the girl was killed, her red cloak had been ripped away. But I was wrong. The girl had been able to dodge the strike, countering with her own blows. Kirito and I stared at her: without her hood, her hair fell free. It was braided at the back to keep her bangs out of her face, but the rest fell down her back. Knocking back Illfang with a blow, she landed and stared at the monster, totally focused.

Kirito stood up and shouted, "He's coming back!" He rushed in to meet Illfang's blows with his own sword; the +6 enhancement was proving its worth. I shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if Kirito would have sold the sword.

Kirito and the girl were proving their skill as a team, each striking and blocking when the other was recovering from an attack. She had just struck a heavy blow when Illfang swept his sword down in the same attack that nearly killed her the last time. Kirito dashed in, blocking with his own sword. He somehow knocked away the sword and prepared for another counter. Illfang activated a Sword Skill

that started crashing down from above; in reaction, Kirito slashed using his own Sword Skill in an upward diagonal.

Something was off though. Illfang's initial strike was only a feint, and the real strike blew Kirito backwards, doing heavy damage. He crashed into the new girl, both of them falling to the ground. She was able to stand, but Kirito was badly injured. He tried his best to stand up, but Illfang had already jumped near them and was preparing to end their lives. An arrow flew from Sinon's bow, but Illfang brushed it aside. I rushed forward in an attempt to save them, but someone was closer.

Agil had somehow managed to charge the monster with his axe drawn and counter Illfang's blow, saving my friends. I rushed to their side, helping Kirito stand. Agil turned and looked back at the three of us as the other members of the raiding party charged Illfang to hold him back.

"We can hold this bastard off until your health's back up."

Kirito looked up in gratitude. "You got it."

Agil nodded and rushed into the fight. Kirito downed a healing potion and the girl supported him.

"I'm Asuna, by the way"

Kirito looked at her, confused.

"My name is Asuna. Just thought you would want to know it."

"Asuna. That's a nice name," Kirito replied, "ready to finish this guy?"

Suddenly, the boss used an Area of Effect attack to knock away every player attacking it. In the brief space it had to breathe, it leaped into the air and prepared to attack using a Sword Skill.

"Watch out!" shouted Kirito as he lunged off the ground, using a Sword Skill. Agil was the target of Illfang's attack, and so Kirito caught it by surprise.

"You're going down!" He used his Sword Skill to fling Illfang into the ground away from the wounded party members. Kirito landed and rolled to his feet, shouting "C'mon Asuna! Fuyuko! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!"

Asuna ran forward, rapier drawn. "You got it!"

I was caught by surprise at his request for my help, but I dashed forward alongside Asuna. "No need to ask!"

Illfang stood up, bellowing in rage and anger. Kirito met its attack head on, knocking its sword aside. Asuna lunged forward to strike with her rapier; as predicted, Illfang tried to attack again. By that point I had circled around to its back and struck with my sword, driving it into the small of the back. Roaring in pain, it was open to Asuna's next strike. Lunging forward, Kirito sliced the boss from shoulder to hip. Not finished, he started his next strike going back the way he came; his eyes were blazing with fury and strength. Roaring a challenge, he sliced Illfang, leaving a deep cut from the hip through the sternum ending at the neck, sending Illfang flying over my head. In midair, Illfang's body glowed bright white and shattered into thousands of tiny little polygons.

The congratulations screen showed up and everyone went wild, celebrating our victory over the first floor of this death game.

"That was some fine swordsmanship, all of you. Congratulations." Agil raised his voice slightly. "Today's victory is all thanks to you, Kirito."

Kirito tried to deny it. "N-no…."

The assembled players had other ideas. "Yeah!" "You rock, man!" "Great job!" The varied applause and celebration finally brought a smile to Kirito's face.

"Stop it. Stop cheering for the bastard!"

Kibaou's voice rang throughout the hall. Everyone stopped and turned back to where he was sitting on the floor.

"Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?"


	9. Chapter 9: Aftermath

"Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?"

Kirito sounded as confused as I felt. "Let him die?"

Kibaou looked up. "That's what I said. Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was going to use." He was right; Kirito had yelled out to Diabel before the blow that killed him. "You could have told us. Then Diabel would have stood a chance.

He wouldn't have had to die!" The mood, previously festive, had turned ugly. People were muttering in small groups about Kibaou's poisonous words. I could see some glances toward Kirito, and none of them had a good look about them.

Someone from the crowd stepped forward. "I know why he knew! He used to be a beta tester! Think about it, he knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us."

Sinon glared at him and started moving forward. Only Agil's arm stopped her from going up to the person and start shouting in his face. She looked up in confusion, and he only shook his head. She frowned, angry, and stepped back.

The shouter continued. "And, I bet he's not the only beta tester here. C'mon, show yourselves!"

The mood of the crowd had turned against us. One minute, they were applauding our skills and the next they were out for our blood. People were backing away from each other, searching the other players as if trying to find a clue to whether or not they were beta testers. The unification Diabel sacrificed his life for was falling apart before my eyes. Agil, Asuna and I walked through the crowd, trying to reach Kibaou. When we reached him, Agil tried to talk to him. "Hey, calm down." Kibaou still looked angry, and so I got angry. Anger crystallized inside my body, anger at Kibaou and his angry words, his stupid hatred for beta testers, and the air seemed to get slightly colder. I opened my mouth, prepared to accuse Kibaou of trying to sabotage Kirito.

Before I could speak, Kirito started laughing. It was a dangerous laugh, the laugh of a man who didn't care if he lived or died. It was almost hysterical laughter. If I could have seen his face, I wouldn't have known him. "So you guys think I used to be a beta tester." He stood up. "It's not cool to put me in the same class as those noobs."

Kibaou was incredulous. "What'd you say?"

"You heard me. Most of the 1,000 people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. They were so green they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were." Kirito walked forward, tone harsh, and eyes forward. He walked between Sinon, Asuna, and me without even acknowledging us. "But me? I'm nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss because I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors." His eyes scared me. They were hard and mocking. "I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

I had no words. Apparently, Kibaou did.

"Wh… What the hell? If that's true, then you're worse than a beta tester. You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!"

Angry players were shouting insults at Kirito. "He's a beta tester and a cheater. He's a beater!" Kirito straightened.

"A beater. Yeah, that's good." Everyone could tell his voice was dangerous, and they backed up. He opened up his menu and started scrolling through it. "You can call me a beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." He chose a piece of equipment and put it on; a long black leather coat fell over his shoulders. That must have been the reward from dealing the finishing blow to Illfang. He chuckled darkly, and started walking to the next floor. Asuna took off after him. A few seconds later, Sinon followed her.

Sinon walked up to him, passing Asuna who was standing still.

"For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing."

He looked at her, surprised. "You… you don't hate me?"

She laughed. "How could I hate anyone who succeeded in unifying so many people?"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Asuna. You're good, and you can become strong on your own. If someone you trust asks you to join them, don't say no." He turned and walked through the door towards the next floor.

Sinon turned to look at me. " Are you ready to go, Fuyuko?"

I looked up at her, a slight smile on my face. "Let's go"

It was time to get stronger.

**Author's Note: **_And so ends the second part of Elsa's story (at least until chapter eleven). Chapter ten will once again focus on Anna's side of the story. On a side note, thank you to for all the favs, follows, and reviews. They are always appreciated _


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